A romance for those fond of a character driven story with lots of humor and outrageous situations. A modern day Emma told from an Indian perspective. In fact Mumbai could be considered another character in this story. The cultural references gave this story its flavor and made it more appealing.

Up and coming matchmaker Jia caused all sorts of chaos trying to climb the ladder at her magazine and matchmaking for those close to her. She has good intentions and a talent for chaos. I laughed at her antics.

Jaiman is her childhood friend and wanna be more than friends but for seriously bad communication skills. I was rooting that he’d speak up and get the girl.

I thought the blog posts and You Have Mail inspired emails were particularly strong. A Whipped Rose cheers to Swati Hegde.

I received a copy of this arc from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a fun book! This is a twist on Emma that takes place in modern day India and leans into Clueless a bit too. Though it definitely follows the outline of Emma, it has enough original content and great characters that make it anything but a cookie cutter remake. Just a fun light read. It would be perfect if you’re looking for a solid pallet cleanser between intense reads.

BIPOC Romance Retelling of Austen's Emma in which a young magazine writer in Mumbai, India must prove her matchmaking skills and contend with her growing feelings for her close family friend.

1/5 stars: This is Hegde's debut novel that takes place in Mumbai, India that is a retelling of Jane Austen's Emma about a magazine writer who'd rather be matchmaking than writing clickbait “relationship” articles for a popular periodical sets out to prove her matchmaking skills. But things don't go smoothly and she's also contending with her growing feelings for her close family friend, a struggling pub owner. Not only is Hegde's writing well done but the character work is excellent; the characters are well-rounded, complex and yet remain likable. Jia and Jaiman are great, very Emma and Knightly but both are dealing with very modern issues. I very much appreciated that this was set in Mumbai and that it celebrates all things Indian, including great food, traditional dress and the Diwali holiday. Jia and Jaiman's romance is swoony but there are no OPS scenes. And while there are plenty of sweet and humorous moments, Hegde does tackles some sensitive topics, so take care and check the CWs. Unfortunately, Emma's my least favorite of Austen's novels. I loved Jai and Jaiman's relationship but I really didn't like how Jai was using her matchmaking for personal gain; leading me to DNF it at 49%. I will be trying this author again in the future.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dell in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this book.

It comes out in June!

I am sadly DNF at 35%. I liked the idea of this book. I thought the matchmaking components, the setting of Mumbai, the Desi and Indian culture, the food and drink, and some of the side characters were all interesting. I also even thought the male lead was mostly okay, if a little mid.

Where it fell apart for me were the writing style felt a little stunted and I was really struggling with Jia as a main character. I just felt like she was being very selfish the whole time and I had a hard time understanding her actions. She is someone who has 0 relationship experience and is essentially manipulating one of her co-workers in her match making because her “choice” of a match is “better” but will ultimately benefit her the most.

I know that is somewhat the point of the book. To poke fun at unsolicited relationship advice but the way it was being carried out weren’t doing it for me. Also the email partner has to be Jaiman right? I will be skimming to find out lol 😂

Thank you NetGalley, Swati Hegde, and Random House Publish for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I started this book immediately after finishing Common Grounds by Allie Samberts and was a bit concerned that both stories followed women who work for online magazines and men with failing pubs/coffee shops. Fortunately that’s where the plot similarities stopped. Match Me If You Can has Friends to Lovers, Found Family, and He Falls First Tropes and I really love them all. Jai’s early insistence that she knows every in and out of how relationships work while never having been in a relationship is a bit annoying, but her character growth is really good. I appreciate when people can see when they are wrong and grow from that. Jaiman I loved the entire time. What’s not to love? I hate to see him struggle. Charu’s romance and matchmaking make a really cute story as well. The cocktails in this book sound delicious and I found myself wishing I could go to J’s to get myself one. I absolutely recommend this book. Four stars only because I felt the middle was a little slow at points, but I still finished this quickly. The cover is absolutely stunning!

This book was so cute but I wanted to smack them the entire time!!! HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO REALIZE YOU HAVE FEELINGS!!!

The acts of service in this without knowing!!! the support!!! I had so much fun reading this!!

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Match Me if You Can by Swati Hedge releases 6/4 by Random House Publishing Group. This story takes us on a sweeping journey through the colorful world of Mumbai. We meet Jia, a writer for Mimosa magazine and her childhood friend Jaiman who owns a pub. Jia wants to create her own matchmaking business and uses co-worker Charu to practice her matchmaking skills and write a feature article for the magazine and her blog. Along the way, she questions her own advice on love. Match Me if You Can is a clean, friends to lovers romance. As a reader, I knew Jia and Jaiman were in love with each other, but it was cringe worthy watching them pine for each other and not confess their feelings. In fact, it’s not until the last chapter that their true feelings come to light. So, if you like a slow burn romance this is the book for you! It was interesting to notice how opposite Jia and Jaiman were. Jia is super driven and ready to take on new goals. Jaiman however just seems to give up whenever there is a challenge. When his pub starts to lose money, his recourse is to close the pub and move to America. He was not my favorite characters. He was needy and whiny. The two secondary characters were much more interesting. Charu is an astrologist and Manoj is a comedian and musician. I would love to read a story with those two characters. Overall, this was a light read perfect for summer. It was brimming with Indian culture and I truly felt like I was in the middle of Mumbai.

4.5 stars.

It's a perfect quick beach read, and it's very clean. It is set in Mumbai on India's west coast. The author wrote this novel in a very (I hate to use this term, but I know of no better) Americanized way. And I thank the author for letting me get a peek into this part of India and letting me understand everything; not all authors do so.

This read starts with a definite nod to Jane Austen's "Emma," so we have a fairly good idea of how this is going to play out, don't we?

I have to admit that several times, I wanted to throw my precious Kindle against the wall because this book upset me. Oh, not in a bad way, but the author sure can write a frustrating love story! And I was VERY frustrated!

Jia and Jaiman have known each other for quite a while, and of course, neither knows that the other loves them. This novel centers around this couple, but some of the secondary stories are captivating.

Jia wants to start her own matchmaking business, and Jaiman wants to have a successful pub. Of course, things don't work out the way they expected—naturally! I'm not going to tell you any more about this story; I just want you to read it. I hope your frustrations with Jai and Jaiman are the happy kind as mine were.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher - Random House Publishing Group, the author, and NetGalley.

3 stars! i really liked the beginning and end of this book. the middle was where it got a little slow for me. jia definitely got on my nerves a little bit, though i do kind of think that was the point! i'm glad she had the character development that she did. i really loved jaiman and tbh the side characters were my favorite! the love a friends to lovers trope and this is no different, it just didn't completely hit the mark for me.

overall a very cute story and a relatively quick read. a great little romance if you're looking for one!

thank you netgalley and random house for this arc!

Quick intro:
Jia, a relationship columnist and hobbyist matchmaker, doesn’t believe in “the one” while for her best friend, Jaiman, it’s always been her, but she doesn’t know that. Match Me If You Can follows them as they pursue their dreams and fight the feelings they have for each other along the way.

Quick thoughts:
I will always be sucker for a good friends-to-lovers story and I was pleasantly surprised by this debut novel by Swati Hedge. I loved getting a peek into millennial Indian culture and the setting in Mumbai was so good! Our FMC Jia read a little naive for me, but I enjoyed her journey discovering what love really meant and pursuing her dreams. I loved the MMC Jaiman - he was the perfect golden retriever MC. And when he drops early on in the book that he’s been in love with Jia since they were twelve I swooned!

I’m not usually into third person dual POV, but I think Hedge pulled it off and I really enjoyed her writing style. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the romance genre next! Honestly, in the end this book just made me really happy. 🥰😂 Read this book if you like found family themes, friends to lovers, closed door romances, REALLY slow burn, diverse reads, and golden retriever MMCs.

Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Jia is employed by a popular women’s magazine in Mumbi where she is a writer, however, her heart is with matchmaking. Her dream is to open a matchmaking company someday where she’ll bring happiness to many couples that she’ll match together. She has had some success in matching a few other couples together, and secretly yearns for what they have. She also has a blog about love with many followers that is anonymous to her employee which is good since she the blog often is about what takes place at work. She has never named the magazine or her coworkers, so she feels like she’s not doing anything wrong.
When Jai suggests a matchmaking column to her boss, she suggests she give matchmaking a try and match up one of their female employees who is hoping to find a husband.
Jaiman Patil has been a friend to Jia and her family since they were children. Jia’s dad has been father figure to Jaiman, after his family moved to the United States. Jaiman’s dream is to own his own bar; however, it has been an uphill struggle to make it happen. He also has secretly been in love with Jia for many years. Jia thinks of him more as a brother; however, she also has somewhat of a crush on Jaiman.
There is an interesting cast of characters, however, because they all had names not familiar to me, often I wasn’t sure if it was a male or female. This is in the category of a contemporary romance and there were a few sweet scenes, however, there also was quite a few uses of the F word and other profanity. That doesn’t appeal to me, and I don’t believe it enhances the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

I’m a fan of Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking and was thrilled to be sent an e-ARC for this debut romance set in Mumbai. Although this childhood friends to lovers slow burn romance was not for me, I think many readers will be charmed by it. FMC Jia is a wealthy aspiring matchmaker and MMC Jaiman is her chef/mixologist best friend with a fledgling pub. There are a number of miscommunication issues that persist and keep Jia and Jaiman from proclaiming their love until the 95% mark. I enjoyed the Indian cultural, as well as the food/cocktails references. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

“Match Me If You Can" by Swathi Hedge is a delightful journey through the intricacies of modern matchmaking. With engaging characters and a witty narrative, Hedge crafts a story that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The blend of humor and romance makes it a perfect read for anyone looking for a fun escape. Hedge's writing style is refreshing and relatable, making this book a must-read for fans of contemporary romance. Overall, "Match Me If You Can" is a charming and entertaining novel that leaves you with a smile on your face.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this early access! This book really surprised me in the best possible way. I highly recommend.

This book really surprised me and I absolutely loved it. It has a feel of crazy rich Asians with the Indian matchmaking. I blew my way through this book so fast.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It felts like mashup between Emma and You've Got Mail and it was wonderful!

New to me author Swati Hegde has captivated me with this sweet desi romance. Magazine writer Jai denies her attraction to long time family friend Jaiman until she realizes he might just be the one.

I will say that though I did enjoy this book, I did get annoyed with Jai on several occasions and I thought the slow burn was tooooo slow. I do like a book with slow burn romance but this one doesn't start until like the last ~20 pages. Ugh. I wonder what else we could have seen between these two if their confessions had happened earlier.

I really loved all of the descriptions of the celebrations and different clothing, foods, decorations, etc. I think this definitely adds to the vibe of the book and the setting being Mumbai doesn't hurt.

Overall I thought this book was well crafted and would recommend to readers looking for a slow burn, sweet romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dell and Swati Hegde for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is a sweet, feel-good love story of a matchmaker, Jia, who finds her match in a family friend, Jaiman. It's been a year since the Incident and Jia won't let herself feel her buried feels for Jaiman and believes if she's made it this far without love and a partner, she will be just fine on her own. Not to mention Jaiman has never been in a serious relationship but certainly has had his fun, so he's not relationship material. Plus there's the fact, she thinks Jaiman only kissed her on a dare, when actually he has been in love with her for quite some time. As a matchmaker, when will she realize that she and Jaiman are the perfect match and let herself find love? 3.5 stars rounded to 4. A fun and cute debut!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

Match Me If You Can follows Jia, a young, chronically single, relationship advice column writer for Mimosa, as she works on her personal blog and her passion for matchmaking on the side. We also spend a lot of time with Jaiman, a chef and mixologist who is also Jia's childhood best friend. Jia is working on matchmaking her coworkers to prove to her boss that she can write a matchmaking column, but things are not going well. Through all of this she starts to complicate many of her friendships and other relationships. Jia realizes she needs to reevaluate her views on love and relationships to repair what is starting to break.

Overall I enjoyed this book for what it was, a quick and breezy rom com, but the miscommunication between Jia and Jaiman started to get old pretty quickly for me. The poor communication between the two led to a very very slow burn in this novel, but if you like that in a book then this is for you! I did appreciate reading about Mumbai and the Indian customs when it comes to matchmaking and I loved the descriptions of all the food!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the e-copy of this ARC.

This is a sweet romance story about two friends who both are looking for love and don’t want to admit they may have already found it. Jia longs to start a match making business and she knows can help others find love, even though she hasn’t found it yet herself. Jaiman knows he has found his match, but Jia doesn’t seem to feel the same way about him. Yet he will do anything to show his best friend support no matter what. Overall, Jia and Jaiman as fun characters and they are easy to see getting together. I wish this book had more match making. I think it would have added some comedy into the story and helped just a little bit. The romance is predictable but tolerable. I wouldn’t say that it swept me away. Which kind of made me sad. I can see myself recommend this book, I just don’t know if I would pick it as a top new romance novel.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Dell, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.